Academy Days: Internship
by Maevenly
Summary: Picks up immediately after Academy Days:Taking it Back leaves off. Kara's plans to meet up with Lee go sideways as she is called up to prevent Tom Zarek from escaping from prison.


**Author's Notes**: This is another Academy Days story centered around Lee and Kara. This is going to be a multichaptered story and will probably be moved to the MA rating in later chapters. For now, though, I think it stands at a heavy 'T' rating for mild language and adult references.

Please, let me know what you think!

Maevenly

Academy Days: Internship

Chapter One

**_Colonial_****** **_Fleet_****** **_Academy_****_ Campus, Picon_**

Frak!

Frak. Frak. Frak. Frak.

FRAK!

Every time she raised her arm or flexed her knee, it hurt. Hell, there wasn't a part of her that didn't hurt, ache or throb.

_Frakking Lee Adama and the way he frakking plays Pyramid_, she thought as she dabbed at her shoulder blade with washcloth. Grimacing at the spots of blood that speckled the soft material, she stretched her knee one more time, trying to loosen up the joint. Licking her lips and popping her eyebrows in appreciation, she had to give him credit. He hadn't held anything back and when she started to play rough, so did he.

For an instant, she wasn't in the locker room getting ready to catch up with everyone, she was on her back – on the Pyramid court – giving a nearly complete stranger an all-access pass to Kara Thrace. If that wasn't bad enough, she knew that Lee Adama had passed to her the very same thing.

"Come on Thrace – get with it. You've got things to do and places to go." Talking to herself, out loud, she dabbed at the cut that crossed her hairline. If she was going to think about Flyboy, there were more pleasant aspects of the man to ponder.

Considering his promise as to how many times they would frak before the two of them even reached his bed made her purr. _His barroom bravado might prove to be something after all. If Lee Adama fraks like he plays Pyramid then you're in for one hell of a night, _ _Thrace_ All she had to do was get to The Burn and meet up with Lee, Grey and the others. That is, if they were still there once she stopped bleeding all over the frakking place.

Pervy thoughts about a sweaty Lee Adama and speculations about how many times he could make her shatter were cut short by a breath-stealing muscle spasm.

Cracking open her eyes as the pain passed, her day took a turn for the worse. The reflection of someone she didn't want to see appearing in the mirror made her dig her fingernails in to the fabric of the washcloth and swivel her head so that she could attack him directly.

"Get the frak away from me." Warily watching the man in full dress uniform come around the locker area and take up floor space near her, she made sure she made her words more of a promise as to what would happen to him if he didn't go away.

"Yeah – it's good to see you too, Thrace. Let me tell ya – I like seeing you as much as you like seeing me." Pulling at his slacks and taking a seat on an adjacent bench, the hollow-sounding clunk of a briefcase settling made it clear that he had sought her out because he was under orders.

"Uh-huh – no way – no how – not gonna happen. As you can see, I'm a little frakked up at the moment." There were still the remnants of that black eye she got the other night at The Burn, her knee was tweaked, her shoulder was a lovely shade of Court Rash Red and the fresh cut on her head would definitely take her out of the running for becoming the next Miss Twelve Colonies. Not to mention that she knew why he had come and she didn't want any part of it. At least, not until the sun rose tomorrow morning and she woke up tangled in Lee Adama's bed sheets. Or on the floor, tangled up in Lee Adama – in either case, she wasn't going to be choosey.

"Yeah – right; forget it, Thrace. It isn't going to work." Dropping his scoffing tone, he dropped the code words guaranteed to tell her the real reason why he had tracked her down. "Odin wants his Valkeryie in the sky – tonight – regardless of how 'pretty' you look."

"Tell him I'll saddle my Wolf in the morning. I've got plans tonight that I'm not going to break for you or anyone." Thinking about what her 'plans' entailed, she adjusted her departure time to make sure she could see exactly what shade of blue Lee's eyes would be after they frakked each other senseless.

"You act like you have a choice, Thrace – you don't. Not that you would refuse Odin in the first place." Smugness highlighted his face and lifted a nostril.

Standing and turning away from him, securing the towel she had wrapped around herself and slightly favouring her right knee, she placed her hands on her hips. He was right – the son of a bitch was right. It was in the rulebook: if the boss called, she had to show. Calling in sick or finding a substitute player wasn't part of the gig when one was given a pair of wings for Nova Squadron.

Pivoting, facing the Major, she gave him a hard look. "Why the frak did Odin send you?"

"To make sure you knew how important this is. That, and that I have a message for you – from him."

"Oh yeah – what's that?" This she had to hear.

"He said that you could do what you promised him you would do the last time you were in his office." Major smoothly relayed.

"Odin said that?" Now that put a smile on her face but she had to make sure she heard him correctly. What she promised to do, she had been denied for a long time and Odin knew exactly which kind of lure to dangle in front of her to make her bite. "You're sure?"

"He did." Not liking the way she was looking at him, he hit the release levers on the briefcase and pulled out a series of file folders. The sooner he got this done, the better off he was and the sooner he could leave.

Setting them down and re-closing the briefcase, he ended their meeting. "For now, everything you need to know is in there."

"We're not done yet." Clipping her words had him stopping in mid stride.

"You miss me already, Thrace?" Sarcasm underscored every word. "How touching."

"Yeah – that's it." She was equally sincere.

Waving a hand in his direction, she zeroed in on the one thing he'd left out. "You have to figure out a way to get me off base without anyone knowing."

"That's not my problem – that's yours. You wanna play with the big dogs, Thrace, you gotta dig the hole underneath the fence to get out." For the most part, he had done his job – he had given her the assignment. The next shuttle off campus was scheduled to leave in an hour and he wasn't going to miss it because Odin wanted Kara Thrace as part of the team for this particular mission.

"That's a load of crap and you know it. Figure out a way to get me off-site or I'll be the one who'll tell Odin about that little stunt you pulled on Tauron."

"Frak you, Thrace."

Her threat only meant something if she had proof and he couldn't tell if she was bluffing or not. She was dangerous; he had seen that first-hand. And she was smart; graduating sixteenth in her class proved it. She was more than capable; Odin wouldn't have picked her up if she wasn't. But just how willing was she to play her trump card? That was what he didn't know.

"Even if you did have something on me, you'd never waste it on something you could do yourself." He held her eyes as long as it took to challenge her ego. But not before he saw her recognize the way he broke eye contact and gave her a predatory once-over.

"That's what this is all about, isn't it?" Coming into his personal space and stamping down her revulsion for the taller man, she deliberately filled the space between their bodies with sexual tension. "You wanting me and you not getting what you want."

"You're a bitch." Not backing away proved that she was right. Marked as she was only made him want her more and she knew it. Trying to get the upper hand by cutting her down, he sneered. "You give it away as it is."

"I'm not the one who tries to shove his dick up his own ass every time he gets a chance just to see if he can do it." Completely unfazed, she let him know he was his own special brand of Asshole.

Fully aware that only a swath of fabric separated her body from his, she ground his manhood underneath her bare foot.

"You're going to do exactly what I say, because I know that a 'man' like you needs a woman to tell you what to do, _Sir_." Twisting his balls in her hands, figuratively, she gave them one more yank as she called his bluff. "Your mission profile from Odin mandates that you organize my departure."

"You're so going to pay for this, Thrace." Seething but keeping his voice level, the Major wasn't about to give her any more power than she already had.

"More than likely, _Sir_ – but I can't find it within myself to really give a frak. The ink might still wet on my Lieutenant status but I'm more of an officer than you'll ever be, _Sir_."

Reaching into his dress coat and tugging free an envelope, he dropped it onto the stack of file folders.

"Just be ready when the hammer falls."

Giving him a salute that was as insulting as his attempt at double entendre, she held it as long as it took for him leave.

Dropping her dominating attitude with a shaky breath and sitting heavily on the bench, she didn't care if her towel gaped or not. Gods, she hated dealing with that man. Granted her animosity wasn't helping to 'heal' their relationship, but he was such a rat-bastard. If he weren't so good at his job, she would've busted his ass a long time ago. As it was, she had wait for his call to find out what her exit strategy was going to entail.

Needing a change of subject, she listless flipped though the files and checked the weight of the envelope the Major left for her.

_What does Odin want now?_ Separating the pages and scanning the paragraphs quickly, she put it all back together and refolded the papers. Still only knowing the basics, she knew the information in the files would fill in a lot of the gaps. Everything else would be explained either in transit or once she got to her destination. Tucking the pages back inside the envelope and shedding her towel, it was with a mixed mind that she reached for her clothes.

Showing up on Odin's radar was definitely a bonus – especially after her last mission and subsequent altercation with the Major. Odin had been pleased with her performance and made a note of it in her sealed file. Her confrontation with the Major, though, was the demerit that appeared on her public service record. There was no way Odin could've put out his hand and prevented that from happening, though. After all, she was the one who told the Major that if he wanted a blow-job so badly then he should stick his dick in the wake of a Viper's burner, close his eyes and enjoy. It wasn't her fault the frakker took full advantage of the fact that there had been a Colonel within earshot when she put that colourful sequence of words together.

Time was working against her. Along with everything else she had to do, she had to make it to the campus infirmary and some how convince the nurse-on-duty to give her an anti-inflammatory shot and keep it off the books.

Wincing at the tightness in her muscles as she laced up her shoes, one thought softened her game-face and caused a silent apology to be winged across campus.

_Sorry, Lee – it would have been fun._

Bsg……….xxx……….Bsg****

A flick of the eyes between the coat-checker and the door attendant had the entry fee to The Burn waived and his jacket stowed away in a place that was reserved for VIP's and 'friends of the establishment'.

Not questioning the sleight of hand that occurred when the door attendant pretended to take his money when Lee entered the club, nor remarking when the coat checker – the same one who gave him Kara's jacket – smoothly stashed his jacket underneath the counter, he made his way to stairs at the back of the dance floor and headed for The Balcony.

Seeing Grey's broad frame peering over the crowd from the second storey, Lee made his way to the other man and took up a similar perch. It felt good to rest his arms against the railing. He was still feeling the affects of that afternoon's Pyramid game, despite the long, cold shower he took and the pain relievers he swallowed.

Turning to the blonde-haired man, Lee started to say something but was cut off by a sly look from Grey.

"If you're wondering why you got the VIP treatment from the staff, it's because the crew takes care of her and by extension, anyone she considers noteworthy. By the looks of things, you made an impression on them as well as her."

Giving Lee a look that could only be shared between men, Grey took in the older man's apprehensive expression and answered the question that made his eyes systematically scan The Balcony.

"You haven't missed her. She hasn't gotten here yet."

The way Grey didn't have to say her name – Kara – blew a hot breath against his well-hidden jealousy streak and made it glow. Grey was another one who could pick Kara out of a crowd with a flick of his eyes. The status of the younger man in Kara's life was one more question he didn't have any right to think, let alone ask. But he did anyway.

"You and she go back a while?" His real question was thinly veiled.

"You all are all the same. And here I thought you were going to be different." The look he got from Grey said one thing: predictable.

Opting not so say anything, Lee wanted to hear what the other man was going to add.

"Kara Thrace is intricate, complicated and elemental. She's a force of nature. You can't control her, you can't 'do' anything about her and every time you think you've got her pegged, she does something completely different but still 'her'." Turning sideways and bracing a hip against the railing, Grey tipped his glass in Lee's direction. "If you're smart – and I think that you might be smart – you'll treat her like the weather. Don't confuse unpredictable with arbitrary; there's a reason for everything that woman does. And like the weather, you won't see it until it hits you or after it's passed unless you're smart enough to read the signs. Thunder and lightening travel along a storm front, a storm front is created because an imbalance took root and grew. Get what I'm saying to you, because I'm not going to talk about her like this again. Be grateful when it's good, find a way to enjoy it when it's cloudy and for Gods' sake, find a place to ride it out when she storms unless you can handle it when the Thunder of the Gods breaks around you. And never, ever, take her for granted. Because if you do – she'll drop you on your ass just to see how high you can bounce."

Lee got it – he got that there was a lot of history between Kara Thrace and this guy Grey.

"And then, I suppose I would then have to watch out for you?" His question was really about finding out how much history laid between the silvered-eyed man standing next to him and the woman they were both talking about.

"So frakking predictable..." Repeating himself, Grey sighed. Every guy who showed an interest in Kara always acted the same way and this one was being no different. Pity. The mental image of him being a Sir Grey to her Lady Thrace was more than amusing. "No, you wouldn't and that's because I have too much respect for the woman to do so otherwise."

The notion that he was never going to completely like Lee Adama settled across his shoulders. He would tolerate the shorter man for Kara's sake, and he would play nice if need be, but he would never call him 'friend'.

Reading Lee's face, Grey took another mouthful of his drink. Glancing up at the other man, he rolled his eyes and bluntly gave Lee the answer to the question he could see Adama about to put into words.

"Yes, we were 'friends' and now we're just friends. And the reason why we're still friends is because I'm enough of a man not to judge a woman like Kara Thrace." Another swallow had him admitting something he had already confessed to Sayre. "I also know that I'm not man enough to love a woman like Kara Thrace." Murmuring into his tumbler, Grey had one more afterthought as he knocked back the last of his drink. "Who ever he turns out to be will be the man who has storms of his own and is capable of matching Kara, blow for blow."

Glass empty and done with euphemisms for the night, he stood up straighter and looked in the direction of the bar.

"I'll be right back. What's your drink?" Grey asked. Polished manners and demeanour slipped back into place like a mask as he became every bit the man he seemed to be to the rest of world.

"Bring me back whatever you're having," Lee answered, evidently still processing what he had shared. It wasn't lost on him that Kara Thrace was one of the few around whom this man trusted implicitly. Knowing that true trust was a two-way street, it was 'a given' that Grey's name showed up at the top of her list as well.

"Silver Spoon, it is." Naming the drink, Grey smirked as he watched Lee try to place what exactly he'd be drinking. "It's a-"

"Specialty drink that she made for you?" Lee finished Grey's sentence. Giving Grey the look that told him that his little speech about Kara didn't frighten him off in the slightest, Lee left his own scent on the Kara Thrace trail, "One second thought – I'll have a Morning Kiss." Catching Grey's arched eyebrow, he clarified. "It's the name of the drink she created especially for me the other night."

Genuinely smiling for the first time as Grey made for the bar and shifting his gaze to the bodies dancing below, Lee knew he finally scored a needed point with the man who appeared to be Kara's best friend. He had made his intentions clear, told the other man that he wasn't afraid of her and acknowledged Grey's importance in Kara's life without being an asshole. Any other issues the other man had with him weren't his problem.

It wasn't that he wanted to marry the woman – just that there was a mutual attraction that spoke of more than a casual frak. In his book, casual fraks didn't entail hard-core Pyramid games, the overwhelming need to find out someone's identity by the initials stitched onto their coat or care about the opinions of best friends.

An urgent hand on his shoulder scattered his thoughts and had him craning his neck high and to the right.

"We gotta go."

It was Grey, snapping shut his vidder. The man was already on the move.

Sparing a glance at the dance floor, he could see a physical ripple move through the throng as dancers stopped and turned their heads towards the door.

Grey was already at the bottom of the stairs as Lee placed his hands on the guardrails and his feet dropped down the steps two at a time. Hitting the first floor, he understood Grey's need for speed.

Word had spread that there was a fight taking place outside and the two-hundred plus people in the club were all trying to get outside to see what was going on.

Shouldering his way through the crowd, catching up with Grey and following the path the taller man cleaved through the clubbers, he caught sight of Kevin waving at him from somewhere near the doorway.

"Lee!" Kevin beckoned from where he waited for Grey and Lee.

Nodding that he had seen him, Lee saw that Grey had also recognized Kevin. Tacking where needed, both men made it to the door with only a few 'what the frak?' phrases tossed at their backs.

Stepping into the night air and gaining a spot on the pavement, Lee listened as Kevin explained, "It's just up ahead."

Moving as fast as the growing crowd around them allowed, it wasn't long before he, Kevin and Grey caught up with Antony.

"Where's Jae?" Lee asked, noting the one – no, one of two – person missing from their group.

"Up there – he's near the front." Antony answered.

The intel was something Grey didn't need – he had his own sources and his own people already in place.

"It's Kara." Stifling an impatient, snarky comment about War College formality, he told them what they didn't know with two words.

In the middle of the street, surrounded by the crowd that had formed, a well-decorated Major stood with a couple of his friends. Not too far away was an irate Kara Thrace who had one of her wrists encased in one of Sayre's hands. At her other shoulder was Alex, her own vidder still clutched in her hand – she was the one who had called Grey – and she was alternating between giving the Major venomous looks and trying to talk Kara down.

"We were making our way to The Burn, when all of a sudden we heard all this shouting. Next thing we know, we see Kara break away from her two friends and take a swing at some Major." Antony explained quickly with the level headedness of giving a SitRep.

Lee heard him, but his mind was already processing the best way to help Kara. There weren't too many options. It was too late to reason with Major What's-his-Name and there were too many witnesses to make it 'his word against hers' and petition for the whole thing to be dropped.

Knowing Grey had the right idea when he saw the blonde man physically shift people in order to get closer, he made sure Antony and Kevin were close behind them as they made their way forward.

Breaking the edge of the crowd and getting closer to where Jae was watching Kara's back, he could hear the verbal exchange between the lieutenant and the major.

Especially impressive was the colourful slew of adjectives, adverbs and verbs that Kara strung together, all in one breath.

Hearing the crowd audibly croon in Kara's favour in light of her comeback, the Major struck back with a biting comment of his own.

"Hard to believe that filthy mouth has the same set of lips that were bobbing up and down on my cock like it was the best tasting thing on twelve colonies." Deliberately raising his voice so that everyone could hear, he asked snidely, "Tell me – do you always use knee-pads when you work? Or had you slurped your way through a couple of 'appointments' earlier that afternoon and, just plain tuckered out, that's why you couldn't get me off?"

The gasp of conviction from the crowd was what made Kara's face flush, not the Major's words. It was his words that made Sayre snake a strong arm around her waist to keep her from launching herself at the Major.

"Look at me, Kara. Hey – right here – look at me." Alex had one hand pressed against Kara's chest and was trying to get Kara to look her in the eyes. "Call it quits, Kara – he's not worth your career."

For all of Alex's efforts to bring Kara down a notch, to let her head rise above her temper, it wasn't any use. Kara only had eyes – and ears – for the Major. Not to mention a very capable mind that was connected to a rapier-edged tongue.

"Funny – that's not what I heard. The way I hear it, the only time you can get off is when you've got your own cock stuffed up your mother's…"

Kara's last word was drowned out by the squawk of an amplified voice speaking into a bullhorn.

"Break it up, people!"

Uniformed officers had come on the scene and Lee had been so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn't even see them arrive and emerge behind the Major.

He knew how this was going to play out. Kara was going to go to jail and the Major was going to go on with his night as if nothing had happened.

The officer in him wanted to throw Kara in the brig, the man in him wanted to stage an escape and fellow-pilot in him wanted to give her a medal.

The sergeant in charge dispatched two officers to deal with the Major while two more officers took hold of Kara's arms.

Leading her back the way they came, they marched her close to where the Major was standing.

It was a blur of movement, but the blood flowing freely from the Major's nose as he bent at the waist, swearing profusely, was the reason why Kara had been wrestled to the ground. Her cheek was pressed into the pavement and a knee was braced at the small of her back. The gleam of handcuffs winked in the ambient light. The restraints clicked into place even as Lee took in what was happening.

Lifted to her feet and efficiently hoisted up, he lost sight of her before she reached the police transport. He never got a chance to see her face, only the spinning lights of the security vehicle as it left The Burn.

Anger and embarrassment neutralized his face. This was not how the evening was supposed to play out. Didn't he mean more to her than some loud-mouthed, half-cocked, Major looking to get his rocks off? She should have walked away. Maybe some barely disguised insult could've been tossed out, strong enough to satisfy her honour but still shrewd enough not to land her in the brig for insubordination. But no – she didn't. Not only did she verbally assault him but also, as he saw the way a medic carefully probed more than the Major's nose, it looked like she broke his face when she had the chance. Striking a superior officer was a hell of a lot worse than insubordination; she'd be lucky if she kept her commission.

Catching Jae's eyes and not caring that just a few minutes ago he was caught up in the 'connection' he felt between him and Kara Thrace, he nudged Jae's arm.

"I'm outta here." He didn't care if Jae followed him or not.

Not waiting for a response and not caring what any of Kara's friend's thought of her situation or his behaviour, Lee turned on his heel and melted into the crowd. There was a pile of mail on his desk that he had yet to sort through and an urgent message waiting for him from the office of Student Affairs.

Yeah, that's exactly how he wanted to spend his evening.

_Thanks, Kara Thrace._

Bsg……….Xxx……….Bsg

**_On board the Battlestar Atlantia, eighteen hours ago…_**

The whir of paper being fed through a printer had Admiral N'Galla, his XO and his Intelligence officer waiting for it to stop.

No sooner had the last word been typed was when the report was lifted from the paper tray.

Passing the pages around, in turn, N'Galla put the cogs into motion.

To his XO, he gave one order. "Contact Valhalla and tell them to be on standby."

To his Intelligence officer, he commanded, "Find anyone who thinks like this man, knows how this man thinks or can remotely get into this man's head."

Watching the two men disappear to fulfil their duties, N'Galla leaned both arms heavily against his desk and then at the clock mounted on the wall, as if to mentally gage how much time he had before news of this leaked out to the colonies.

Smirking at the code names involved, he shook his head at the penchant one person had for Libron mythology. The man was from Scorpia, for Zeus's sake!

Pushing those thoughts aside as the seriousness of the situation took hold, he knew that putting Valhalla on alert was on the border of overkill, but this was not a situation for the kind of brute force that came with mobilizing Razors. When Razors arrived on a scene, everyone knew they were there.

That was the last thing he needed.

This wasn't that kind of situation. What had to be done, has to be done quietly, professionally and with, if necessary, an untraceably deft hand.

After all, it wasn't like Valhalla 'officially' existed.

Bsg……….Xxx………..Bsg

**_Right now, handcuffed inside the security transport… _**

Talk about living on the edge!

Smirking in the dim light of the sealed transport, not bothering to smother the big ass smile on her face, she had to give the man props. Odin's word was still good.

Rotating her shoulders back and doing a few practice motions, it was one smooth movement that brought her cuffed hands from resting against the small of her back to resting in front of her stomach.

Getting off of the metal seat that spanned the length of the transport, she knelt down and found what she was looking for – a black duffle bag. On it was a circular patch depicting a winged wolf, baying at a moon, around which twelve stars were arranged.

Fishing out the keys to the cuffs, she quickly unlocked her 'bracelets' and shook circulation back into her wrists.

The skinned knuckles on her right hand she would enjoy for a long time to come. She promised Odin that if she ever saw the Major again, she was going to pop him one. And she did. The 'officer' in charge of manhandling her slackened his grip just enough to let her pull herself free and get in a good, solid swing.

Rifling through the contents of the duffle, making sure that the files she needed were included, she pulled out the set of clothes and set about changing out of her club wear. Sliding her arms through the sleeves of her shirt, her eyes got caught on the Nova Squadron emblem stitched to the upper arm. She was damn lucky to get a spot on the squad and she knew that if Odin hadn't seen – first hand – what she could do with a Viper and a sniper-rifle, he would've never have let her near his team or get behind the stick of a BlackWolf.

Picking up the first folder and concentrating on the dossier, a picture of a man in his early thirties was affixed to the inside panel. Reading the enclosed information, the more she read, the more she could understand the need for urgency.

If Odin's intelligence was correct, there wasn't a lot of time left to find out exactly how Tom Zarek's network of supporters were going to break him out of prison.

The thought of that man being free to terrorize the Colonies once more had her tracing an 'X' across his face with her index finger.

Not on her watch.


End file.
